Permutation lock



N185r 18, 1937. E- B, STONE 2,081,123

' PERMUTATION LOCK Filed Sept. 18, 1935 Patented May 18, 1937 UNlTEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2,081,123 PERMUTATION Loox Application September18, 1935, Serial No. 41,127

14 Claims.

My invention relates particularly to the type of permutation locks whichare employed in connection with the doors of lockers and similarstructures, and an object of my invention, among others, is to provide alock of this type by means oi which a dial of maximum size may be usedupon doors of minimum size; a further object of the invention is toprovide a lock of this type by means of which the tumblers may bepositioned with a minimum amount of movement o-f the dial; a furtherobject of the invention is to provide a lock of this type which may bereadily opened should the combination be disarranged; a further objectof the invention is to Vprovide a lock oi this type in which thecombination may be readily and conveniently changed; and a furtherobject of the invention is to provide a lock of this kind that shall besimple in construction and particularly eicient in operation.

e0 One form of a lock embodying my invention and in the construction anduse of which the objects herein set out, as Well as others, may beattained is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1is a face view oi a portion of a set of lockers one of which is equippedwith my improved lock.

Figure 2 is a side view of the same.

Figure 3 is a view on enlarged scale of a portion of a locker doorequipped with my improved lock and with parts broken away to showconstruction.

Figure 4. is a View in section on a plane'denoted by the dotted line 41', of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a View in section. on a plane denoted by the dotted line 5-5of Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a view in section on a p-lane denoted by the dotted lineS--ii of Fig. 3, but on reduced scale and with parts broken away to showconstruction.

Figure 7 is an isometric perspective view of the tumbler membersillustrating a way to adjust the tumblers if the combination bedisarranged, the scale being enlarged.

Figure 8 is a detail View looking at the back of the lock case.

Figure 9 is a detail view on reduced scale showing the tumbler mechanismmounted on the inside cap that carries this mechanism.

Figure l0 is a View in section on a plane denoted by the dotted lineIII- I9 of Fig. 9.

The mechanism illustrated and described herein is the same in manyinstances as that forming the subject matter of my application S. No.V

55 721,179, led April 18, 1934, the presen-t applica- (Cl. 'l0-315) tionin fact being an improvement on the mechanism of said prior application.In the accompanying drawing the numeral 'I denotes the front plate of aset of lockers comprising openings with doors 8 closing such openings,one of `such doors being shown in Fig. l as equipped with my improvedlock. A handle 9 is slidably mounted upon the door for the purpose oflatchirig and unlatching the fastening therefor, such fastening beingcontrolled by my improved lock.

In prior structures, owing to the small space available on the front ofthese doors, the use of a dial of small dimensions has been compelled,and as lockers are frequently located in dark places, the use of such asmall dial is objectionable f owing to the difficulty in seeing thenumbers upon it. However, these lockers and the doors are of standardconstruction and therefore the lock case and its mechanism is located ina deniteposition with respect to the handle 9, an-d this has compelledthe use of the smaller dials hereinbefore referred to. By the use of myimproved dial I am enabled, without changing the position of the lockcase and its mechanism, to make use of a large dial, the onlychangerequired in the standard equipment being embodied in the dialstructure, the lock case and its mechanism being undisturbed. Theseprior structures embody a bolt case I0 commonly 'constructed by bendingmetal at the edge of the door 8, as best shown in'Fig. 5, such caseextending from thel top to the bottom of the door. A door bolt I I' oftubular form is slidably mounted within the case IIJ, the handle 9 beingsecured at its upper and lower ends to said bolt by means of projectionsI2 which extend through slots in the door for the purpose of permittingsliding movement of the handle.

A retainer I3 is attached to the door bolt Withing the opening therein,the outturned end of the retainer projecting through a slot I4 inthewall of said bolt in position for its end to engage the edge of a slotl5 in the case I0, thereby holding the bolt in its unlocked position. Acatch I6 secured inside of the front of the frame or front plate 1projects in position'to enter the slots lau-I5, the upper edge of theslot I4 engaging within a notch in the catch to retain the door in itslocked position, and as shown in Fig.. '6.7

The door bolt is held in its locked position by a lock bolt I8 pivotallymounted within a lock case I'I secured to the rear face of the door 8 asby means of threaded studs and nuts, the nose of said lock bolt I8extending through a slot in the side of the lock case and a slot I9 inthe door bolt I, engagement in said slot locking the sliding door boltagainst movement.

Movement of the lock bolt is controlled by means of a key plug 26 of anyordinary type and adapted to receive a key in the key slot 2|, as ameans to release the key plug for rotating movement. The lock bolt isalso controlled in its movement by a set of tumblers rotatably mountedupon the key plug and heretofore operated in the usual marier by meansof a dial mounted concentrically with said plug and through an openingin the center of which dial the key is inserted into said plug.

As heieinbefore explained the structure thus far described is of old andwell-known form, the key within the key plug being made use of at anytime to permit release of the nose on the locking bolt from engagementwith the sliding door bolt. The dial and tumblers are separatelyoperated for the same purpose independently of the key.

In efecting my purpose, and in order to enable the use of a large dialWithout changing the position of the key plug and the tumblers withinthe lock, I pivotally mount my dial 22 upon a stud 23 projecting :from aback plate 2A secured to the face of the door 8 as by means of threadedstuds and nuts, and as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing. flange 25 isformed at the periphery of the back plate. A gear ring 26 comprising anoperating member is formed on the back of the dial, preferably integraltherewith, teeth 21 on the inner edge of the ring 2S meshing with teethon a pinion 2S, constituting an operating member for the tumblersrotatably mounted upon the key plug 23. One of the tumblers 4| of a setof tumblers is rotated by the pinion 28, other tumblers of ordinaryconstruction being provided with interengaging lugs and also withnotches, the latter of which are caused to register to enable thelocking bolt to be thrown. This ordinary arrangement will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art. A hole 2S is formed through thedial 22, through which hole access may be had to the key slot in the keyplug 2i). It will be understood that the locking bolt may be releasedfor action by the use of a key at any time, whenever the dial is rotatedto uncover the key plug, such lock feature being well understood bythose skilled in the art, in the particular and novel arrangement shownherein this mechanism embodying a detent 40 movably mounted to enter thenotches in the disk tumblers when said notches are aligned by operationof the dial 22,

1* the tumbler il being rigidly connected to the pinion 28 as by meansof interengaging lugs and notches, the other connected tumblers beingshown in Fig. '1 of the drawing. The detent i3 is pivotally mounted onthe locking bolt I8 hereinbefore mentioned and when in its lockingposition, that is, disengaged from the notches in the tumblers, a dog l2is presented in its path of movement, thereby preventing movement of thelocking bolt i8 and disengagement of its nose from the door bolt Il.However, the dog d2 is secured toa slide which is connected foroperation by the key plug 20 so that when said plug is turned by the useof a key the dog is moved, thereby permitting movement of the detent 4!and consequent disengagement of the nose of the locking bolt i8 from thedoor bolt.

The tumbler mechanism including the actuating pinion, the tumblersandthe spacers may be mounted on an inside cap 50 as shown in Figs. 9and 10, this cap being located inside of the case A retaining ring inthe shape of a I1 and having lips 52 resting on the side of the caseuunderneath the cover to close such case.

In the particular construction herein shown a positioning disk 33 of amore or less springy nature is located back of the dial 22 and incontact therewith, this disk being held against rotation in any suitablemanner, as by lugs extending into notches in the back plate 24, and asshown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, said disk being in contact with thepinion 2B. This pinion has a collar 3| projecting from its back facewhich extends through the back plate and door into the lock case, theoutermost tumbler of the set of tumblers hereinbefore referred to beingprovided with lugs 32 with notches between them, said lugs and notchesbeing engaged by similar lugs and notches formed on the collar 3|, andas shown in Fig. 7 of the drawing.

It will be understood that the pinion 23 is so timed in its rotationwith respect to the gear ring 26 that the proper number of rotationswill be imparted to the tumblers in the movements of the dial to effectthe iinal unlocking position of the tumblers as the dial is rotated tobring its graduation marks successively into registry with a pointer 33.

It will be noted that the gear ring 26 meshes with the pinion 28 andimparts a faster rate of rotation to said pinion and the tumblersconnected therewith. These tumblers must be rotated one or more completerotations, depending upon the number of tumblers employed and theirposition relatively to the tumbler operating member, as the pinion 28.In a permutation lock mechanism in common use three tumblers areemployed and with these tumblers connected directly with the dial thelatter must be rotated in opposite directions a number of times, threecomplete rotations in one direction being required, two completerotations in the opposite direction, and one complete rotation in thesame direction as the first movement. With my improved mechanism thesepluralities of rotations of the tumblers in opposite directions may beobtained by a partial rotation only of the dial, the latter requiring avery limited movement to eiect a number of rotations of the pinion 28and the tumblers connected therewith. This comprises an importantfeature of my invention in my hereinbefore mentioned application.

To enable a change in the combination of the lock in a ready andaccessible manner Without disturbing the mechanism at the back, I mountthe dial 22 so that it may be moved outwardly on or off from the stud 23sufciently to disengage the gear teeth 21 from the teeth of the pinion28. To this end a key plug 34 is located in a socket in the knob 36 ofthe dial, this key plug being of any ordinary and well-knownconstruction, pin tumblers being shown herein in Fig. 4 as a means forlocking it against rotation. As shown an annular groove 35 is formed inthe outer end of the stud 23 and a iiange 31 on the back end of the keyplug 34 engages within said groove. This flange is cut away on one sideas at 38, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, so that when the plug isturned to one position the flange Will be released andthe dial may beremoved from the stud 23.

When it is desired to change the combination fof the lock a key to t thekey plug 34 is employed to release the plug and enable it to be rotated,therebyv disengaging the flange 31 from the annular groove 35 andenabling the dial to be moved outwardly thereby permitting the teeth ofthe ring 26 to be disengaged from the teeth of the pinion 2B. 'I'he dialmay now be replaced in a different position with respect to the pinion28 and to such extent, denoted by the graduations on the dial, as may bedesired, the teeth on the dial being reengaged with the teeth of the.pinion 28, and the key plug 34 being turned to its locked position thedial will be securely held in place.

If, in attempting to change the combination, it should be found thatsome mistake has been made and that the operation of the dial will notfunction to release the lock it will be obvious that if the oldcombination could be restored the` lock would be in condition tofunction and then a new attempt to change the lock could be made.

To effect this purpose I provide an indicator 39 in the shape of anotchin the gear 28 and another indicator 43 on the hub of the flange of thetumbler '4 l and a similar indicator 44 on the hub of the gear 23, andas shown in Fig. '7 of the drawing. All of the indicators when alignedand also when aligned with the pointer 33 will relatively locate thetumblers in their original positions the dial being then replaced withthe zero mark registering with said pointer. It will now be obvious thatthe old combination may be employed to unlock the lock and a new attemptmay be made to change the combination.

In order to automatically disturb the tumblers and throw them out ofregistry and thereby lock the mechanism without operation of the dialthe detent 40 is provided -with a nger 45 located for Contact with aspring 46 when the locking bolt i8 is moved to unlocking position. Whenthe tumblers are in unlocking position the notches 41 are in registry,as shown in Fig. 'l and the detent 4U will have dropped into saidnotches. When the bolt I8 is now moved, as by operation of the door boltIl, the finger 45 will pass under the spring 46 placing the latter undertension tending to move the detent from said notches. The detent 46,having been lowered into the notches 4l as just described, will passunderneath and beyond the dog 42, carrying the notches to the lockingposition shown in Fig. 8. As soon as the detent isreleased from the dogthe action of the spring 46 on the finger 45 will cause the detent to beraised and as the nose of the locking bolt I8 is moved to its lockingposition the detent 40 will pass over the dog and into the positionshown in Fig. 8. It will thus be seen that in the unlockingv movement ofthe locking bolt I8 the notches in the tumblers will be disarranged andautomatically placed in locking positions, but that said bolt ispermitted to return to its locked position at any time thereafter andwhile the.

tumblers are left in unlocked positions.

In order to enable the graduations on the dial to be placed in exactregistry with the pointer 33 notches 48 are formed in the periphery ofthe gear ring 26, and as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, there being anotch for each of thergraduations on the dial. 'I'his places a slightobstruction to rotation of the dial from each of the posi- .i tionswhere the graduations register with the pointer 33. A detent 49,preferably spring actuated, is located in a recess in the rib on theback plate 24, and as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, the nose of saiddetent being adapted to engage the notches 48 for the purpose herein setforth.

t will be noted that by the use of this improved lock each tumbler isplaced in its unlocking position by the use of a single designation. Asan example, in prior permutation locks embodying a number of tumblers, aplurality of designations must be employed increasing with the number oftumblers except the first; The dial is given a number of completerotations depending upon the tumbler to be positioned and there istherefore the designations on the dial and mental designations denotingthe number of rotations of the dial. With the present device a singledesignation only is employed, this being that denoting the position ofthe dial. The first tumbler is positioned by using the singledesignation and the dial is then partially rotated to the nextdesignation and then bya reverse movement to the next designation, andso on, a single designation being used in each instance. y

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I havedescribed the principles of operation of my invention, together with thedevice which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof;but I desire to have it understood that the device shown lis onlyillustrative and that the invention may be carried outA by other meansand applied to uses other than those above set out. A

l. In aperinutation lock, an actuating member rotatably mounted tooperate a set of tumblers, an operating member continuously operativelyconnected with said actuating member for each unlocking operationthereof, a dial operatively connected through said operating member withsaid actuating member, a mount upon which said dial is movably mountedto temporarily sever its said Vconnection and also for movement of thedial relatively to said actuating member to change the combination ofthe lock, and means other than said dial for determining the relativeoperativepositions of the dial and tumblers.

2. A permutation lock for a closure, said lock including .a set oftumblers adapted to be operatively connected, a dial mounted on theouter face of said closure, an actuating member operatively connectedwith said dial and with one of said tumblers, means accessible on saidvface of said door to effect disconnecting movement of said dial forchanging the relative positions of said actuating member and tumblersand means other than said dial for determining the relative operativepositions of the dial and tumblers.

3. A permutation lock for a closure, said lock including a set oftumblers adapted to be operatively connected, a dial mounted on theouter face of said closure, an actuating member operatively connectedwith said dial and with one of said tumblers, and interengaging memberson said actuating member and tumblers for changing their relativepositions, means accessible on the face of said door to affect movementof said dial to change said relative positions of the actuating memberand tumblers, and means other than said dial for determining therelative opera.- tive positions of the dial and tumblers.

4. A permutation lock including a set of tumblers adapted to beoperatively connected, an actuating member operatively connected withone of said tumblers and having indicia for unlock.- ing operation ofsaid member, means for changing the relative positions of said actuatingmember and tumblers, and means independent of said indicia fordetermining the original position of Y said actuating member.

5. A permutation lock including a set of tumblers adapted to beoperatively connected, an actuating member operatively connected withone of said tumblers, means for changing the relative positions of saidactuating member and '7. A permutation lock including a tumbler, a

rotatably7 mounted dial, an operative connection between said dial andtumbler for operation of the latter, a headed stud projecting into arecess in the dial, a releasing member carried by the dial to engagesaid stud to retain the dial in place, and means for disengaging saidretaining vmember from said head to permit change of position of thedial relatively to said tumbler.

8. kA permutation lock including a tumbler, a dial having `a knob, anoperative connection between said dial andtumbler for operation of thelatter, a headed stud projecting into a recess in said dial, a key plugrotatably mounted in said knob and including a retaining member toengage the head of said stud, and means whereby a partial rotation ofsaid retaining member by a key in said plug will release the retainingmember from the head of said stud to permit change of position of saiddial reiatively to said tumbler.

9. A permutation lock including a tumbler, an actuating memberoperatively connected with said tumbler, a rotatably mounted dialoperatively connected with said actuating member, means for rotatablychanging the position of said dial relatively to said actuating member,and means for determining the original position of said actuating memberrelatively to said dial.

10. A permutation lock including a set of tumblers, an actuating memberoperatively connected with said tumblers, a dial operatively connectedwith said actuating member, means for rotatably changing the position ofthe dial relatively to said actuating member, and indicating marks onsaid actuating member and appurtenant to said dial to determine theoriginal relative positions of said members.

1l. A permutation lock for a closure, said lock including a set oftumblers adapted to be operatively connected, an actuating memberoperatively connected with one of said tumblers and having indicia forunlocking operation ofsaid member, means for changing the relativepositions of said actuating member and tumblers, and means accessible onthe face of said closure for determining the original position of saidactuating member independently of said indicia.

l2. A permutation lock for a closure, said lock including a set oftumblers adapted to be operatively connected, an actuating memberoperatively connected with one of said tumblers and having indicia forunlocking operation of said member, means for changing the relativepositions or said actuating member and tumblers, and cooperatingindicating marks on said tumblers and actuating member andaccessiblefrom the front face of said closure for' determining their originalrelative positions.

13. A permutation lock for a closure, said lock including a tumbler, anactuating member operatively connected with said tumbler, a rotatablymounted dial operatively connected with said actuating member and havingindicia thereon for unlocking operation of said tumbler, means forrotatably changing the position of said dial relatively to saidactuating member, and means accessible from the front face of saidclosure for determining the original position of said actuating memberrelatively to said dial.

14. A permutation lock for a closure, said lock including a set oftumblers, an actuating member operatively connected with said tumblers,a dial operatively connected with said actuating member and havingindicia thereon for unlocking operation of said tumblers, meansindependent of said indicia for rotatably changing the position of thedial relatively to said actuating member, and indicating marks on saidactuating member and appurtenant to said dial and independent of saidindicia to determine the original relative positions of the members.

ELMER B. STONE.

